Australian and Indonesian officials and automotive industry representatives have met in Melbourne to build on the $123 million bilateral trade in automotive products, Trade Minister Mark Vaile said today.

The Australia-Indonesia Automotive Summit was one of the key outcomes agreed by Mr Vaile and his Indonesian counterpart, Rini Soewandi, last November.

"The Automotive Summit has brought together key representatives of government and industry and is another example of the excellent cooperation between the Australian and Indonesian Governments and the two countries auto industries," Mr Vaile said.

"In particular, this summit enabled potential Indonesian customers to gain a better understanding of Australian capacities, particularly in high technology products."

The Summit was co-chaired on the Australian side by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, and on the Indonesian side by the Indonesian Ministry of

Industry and Trade and the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (GAIKINDO).

Summit outcomes included a decision by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) to extend its successful in-bound buyers missions from Indonesia to Australia, and an announcement by the Indonesian parts association (GIAMM) to participate in the next Federation of Automotive Parts Manufacturers (FAPM) Conference.

The Summit also witnessed the signing of an MOU between Advanced Fuels Technology (AFT) and PT Hyundai Indonesia Motor (HIM). AFT will provide automotive alternative fuel conversion kits and training courses to HIM.

"I am sure bringing the two sectors together, as we have today, will provide further opportunities for the Australian automotive industry in the Indonesian market."

The Summit was preceded by government-to-government discussions, held in Canberra on 8 March 2004, on automotive and other taxation issues.